Bad Boys 3 rescued from development limbo by Martin Lawrence’s arms

By Danette Chavez | February 10, 2016 | 6:05pm

Aux Features Film

Sony has been wondering what its Bad Boys sequels were gonna do if Will Smith and Martin Lawrence never in fact came for them—that is, agreed to star in them. The two films have been in a Pinocchio-like stasis since about 2009, just waiting to become “really real.” Pre-production seemed to inch forward when we learned that Joe Carnahan (The Grey) was in talks to direct, but then Sony admitted that Smith was still on the fence about returning to the franchise. The latest turn of events has seen Smith snatch the Bad Boys legacy back from the jaws of a terrible video game, as he revealed that Bad Boys 3 is in the bag—still not in production, but basically a done deal. And what has Smith feeling so optimistic? Why, a hug from his friend and colleague, Martin Lawrence.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1, the Suicide Squad actor said he recently ran into Lawrence for the first time in two years. Smith didn’t allude to any rift between the two, so their schedules presumably just got in the way. Smith has been busy trying to take the NFL and Academy Awards down a peg, while Lawrence teamed up with Kelsey Grammer on the ill-fated FX series, Partners. But according to Smith, the years and distance faded once they set eyes on each other: “We looked at each other. We hugged. In that moment, we knew we were making another Bad Boys. We’re definitely doing another one.” Would that all delayed productions could be jumpstarted that easily.